For scale, Denver and Westley had walked almost all the way down into the sand valley.

A gate composed of wooden logs narrowed the opening to prevent access by motorized vehicles. The opening was, however, wide enough to allow bicycles, wheelchairs, and strollers.

The sand dunes extended down from the edge of a forest. In the center left of this photograph, two people sat on a log. Their tiny relative size emphasized the vastness of this dune valley.

A vast sand dune valley extended all the way to a fence at the far end. Notice the hundreds of footprints in the sand.

A closer look at the sand revealed that it contained small bits of forest.

Another close look at the sand, this time right up next to the forest, revealed even more bits of forest in the sand.

Denver and Westley played in the sand. They were only part way down the face of the dune.

The edge where the sand met the forest. Notice that the forest appears to be gradually growing over the sand.

A small island of grass had established itself out over the surface of the sand.

Pine cones grew on a pine tree that towered over the edge of the sand.

The forest was marching slowly (over centuries) down over the sand.

A modest sign next to a dirt path indicated that it was the trail to the sand dunes. The sign simply read, "Dunes Trail."